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John Deere · 07-25-2011, 07:27 AM

This is sent from my phone so before you complain about any missed punctuation you know more or less.

I have a customer that has a 1987 jeep comanche sitting in her yard. I want to get but it's only 2wd. How hard would it be to convert to 4wd? I know of course a axle, transfercase. I am not very knowledgeable on these jeeps, my past is Toyotas. I know for sure it needs a slave cylinder. It has not run in some time not sure how long. I'm told it cranks but can't drive. I can pick it up for 500 bucks. As best I can tell it's in pretty dang good shape for what it is. Interior looked to be in real nice shape (based on looking through window). Give me some pointers I should look at. I think I recall seeing a 4.0L on the side I assume V6 is what that's leaning towards. Any help at all would be great. I wished it was already 4wd but it's not. I'm thinking it will be a little aggravating but can be done. Can a V8 swap fit in these. Say maybe a 350? Thanks for your time! I will get some pictures and upload them when I go look at it again hopefully today.

jetboat · 07-25-2011, 07:49 AM

a 4wd swap in them is fairly easy, all the hangers etc are already there. That being said... why? In my area I can find 4wd Cherokees/Commanches all day for under $1000 on CL. Heck, I paid $180 for one that needed a u-joint and t-case. If you insist on doing it, you can go to about any junkyard and find the axle/suspesion/tcase/ds you need for cheap.

As for a v8 swap, there is plenty of room but again.... why? The 4.0 is a very reliable and powerful motor. The inline 6 4.0 was rated at 190hp 225 tq, if you compare that to a junkyard v8 your only looking to gain maybe 30hp and do allot of work. You could allot more eaily build a stroked 4.7 (4.0 with bore and stroke) and be in the 270hp range.

John Deere · 07-25-2011, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jetboat

a 4wd swap in them is fairly easy, all the hangers etc are already there. That being said... why? In my area I can find 4wd Cherokees/Commanches all day for under $1000 on CL. Heck, I paid $180 for one that needed a u-joint and t-case. If you insist on doing it, you can go to about any junkyard and find the axle/suspesion/tcase/ds you need for cheap.

As for a v8 swap, there is plenty of room but again.... why? The 4.0 is a very reliable and powerful motor. The inline 6 4.0 was rated at 190hp 225 tq, if you compare that to a junkyard v8 your only looking to gain maybe 30hp and do allot of work. You could allot more eaily build a stroked 4.7 (4.0 with bore and stroke) and be in the 270hp range.

Cherokees are beat to hell around here and are hard to find in decent shape for cheap.

jetboat · 07-25-2011, 09:52 AM

only way I can see justifying turning a 2wd into a 4wd is, if you go ahead and swap in d44 front out of either a waggy or Bronco and upgrade the rear accordingly. To swap in a d30 and keep the d35 rear seems like a waste of time and energy.

country_crawler · 07-25-2011, 11:37 AM

If you Just WANT to do the V8 swap, the best engines you could put in it are the LS Style motors such as a 5.3, or the LS1 which is a 5.7.

kooter · 07-26-2011, 07:56 AM

Maybe I missed it but is it an auto or manual transmission. You will need to change the tail housing and output shaft to get rid of the slip yoke and be able to mount a t-case to it.

You'll need :
Front axle
Front driveshaft
Floor Shifters with underbody brackets
Transmission tailshaft housing and new output (just get a 4wd transmission)
Transfercase
Rear Driveshaft
Vehicle Speed Sensor

Thats just off the top of my head. I did a 302 swap into my YJ. It wasn't horrible. Its a lot of work and merging the Jeep harness with the Ford harness sucked.

TXJeeper1 · 07-26-2011, 08:44 AM

If you are going to convert it definately go ahead and like another poster said, beef it up a touch. You can get a Ford 8.8 for the rear that will usually have disc brakes allready on it for about $100 at the junk yard and it is a great axle. Find you a front D44 and throw that in there, they were common on Waggy's but then you have to get a different T-case (waggy's are passenger side drop). If you want to get rid of the 4.0 (straight 6 not v6) that is fine, you can get a 350 and drop in pretty easy, people do it every day and there are actually kits available that will come with new bell housing and everything else you need. I am thinking about either stroking a 4.0 for mine or dropping a Vortec 4.3 v6 that is pretty beefed up into my YJ, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. The vortec 4.3 is lighter than a 350 and gets good HP and torque especially if you throw some good stuff into it.

07-25-2011, 07:27 AM	#1
John Deere Rock Crawler Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Alabama Posts: 564	Need help from you jeep guys This is sent from my phone so before you complain about any missed punctuation you know more or less. I have a customer that has a 1987 jeep comanche sitting in her yard. I want to get but it's only 2wd. How hard would it be to convert to 4wd? I know of course a axle, transfercase. I am not very knowledgeable on these jeeps, my past is Toyotas. I know for sure it needs a slave cylinder. It has not run in some time not sure how long. I'm told it cranks but can't drive. I can pick it up for 500 bucks. As best I can tell it's in pretty dang good shape for what it is. Interior looked to be in real nice shape (based on looking through window). Give me some pointers I should look at. I think I recall seeing a 4.0L on the side I assume V6 is what that's leaning towards. Any help at all would be great. I wished it was already 4wd but it's not. I'm thinking it will be a little aggravating but can be done. Can a V8 swap fit in these. Say maybe a 350? Thanks for your time! I will get some pictures and upload them when I go look at it again hopefully today.

07-25-2011, 07:49 AM	#2
jetboat I wanna be Dave Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tax Nation Posts: 2,289	a 4wd swap in them is fairly easy, all the hangers etc are already there. That being said... why? In my area I can find 4wd Cherokees/Commanches all day for under $1000 on CL. Heck, I paid $180 for one that needed a u-joint and t-case. If you insist on doing it, you can go to about any junkyard and find the axle/suspesion/tcase/ds you need for cheap. As for a v8 swap, there is plenty of room but again.... why? The 4.0 is a very reliable and powerful motor. The inline 6 4.0 was rated at 190hp 225 tq, if you compare that to a junkyard v8 your only looking to gain maybe 30hp and do allot of work. You could allot more eaily build a stroked 4.7 (4.0 with bore and stroke) and be in the 270hp range.

07-25-2011, 09:52 AM	#4
jetboat I wanna be Dave Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Tax Nation Posts: 2,289	only way I can see justifying turning a 2wd into a 4wd is, if you go ahead and swap in d44 front out of either a waggy or Bronco and upgrade the rear accordingly. To swap in a d30 and keep the d35 rear seems like a waste of time and energy.

07-25-2011, 11:37 AM	#5
country_crawler RCC Addict Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Rock Bouncin' with the Patented Technique Posts: 1,374	If you Just WANT to do the V8 swap, the best engines you could put in it are the LS Style motors such as a 5.3, or the LS1 which is a 5.7.

07-26-2011, 07:56 AM	#6
kooter Pebble Pounder Join Date: May 2006 Location: St. Louis Posts: 123	Maybe I missed it but is it an auto or manual transmission. You will need to change the tail housing and output shaft to get rid of the slip yoke and be able to mount a t-case to it. You'll need : Front axle Front driveshaft Floor Shifters with underbody brackets Transmission tailshaft housing and new output (just get a 4wd transmission) Transfercase Rear Driveshaft Vehicle Speed Sensor Thats just off the top of my head. I did a 302 swap into my YJ. It wasn't horrible. Its a lot of work and merging the Jeep harness with the Ford harness sucked.

07-26-2011, 08:44 AM	#7
TXJeeper1 Quarry Creeper Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Nacanowhere Texas Posts: 494	If you are going to convert it definately go ahead and like another poster said, beef it up a touch. You can get a Ford 8.8 for the rear that will usually have disc brakes allready on it for about $100 at the junk yard and it is a great axle. Find you a front D44 and throw that in there, they were common on Waggy's but then you have to get a different T-case (waggy's are passenger side drop). If you want to get rid of the 4.0 (straight 6 not v6) that is fine, you can get a 350 and drop in pretty easy, people do it every day and there are actually kits available that will come with new bell housing and everything else you need. I am thinking about either stroking a 4.0 for mine or dropping a Vortec 4.3 v6 that is pretty beefed up into my YJ, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. The vortec 4.3 is lighter than a 350 and gets good HP and torque especially if you throw some good stuff into it.

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